


What Happened Next: Calm Before The Storm

by Hopelikehell



Category: Fall Out Boy, Mania AU - Fandom, Mania-verse
Genre: Anger, Conversation, Gen, MANIA AU, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 17:01:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16223450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hopelikehell/pseuds/Hopelikehell
Summary: When Patrick tells Joe that he is going to the Howls, Joe is rightfully pissed. It’s a culmination of hating Pete, hating how blind Patrick could be sometimes, and hating that there isn’t anything he could do to stop it.





	What Happened Next: Calm Before The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of an event in the Mania-verse/ManiaAU. The original prompt about Joe’s anger with Patrick can be read [here](https://officialmaniaau.tumblr.com/post/178682014696/childhood-and-joe). I take no ownership over the people in this story, nor over the original AU. I’m just playing in their sandbox.
> 
> I’d appreciate any comments/feedback, as the last time I posted fanfic was 15 years ago. Enjoy!

“Oh, so what, is this another prophecy that needs to be fulfilled? That all your life is leading to? This fucking quest is supposed to be Pete’s destiny - why do you need to be involved?“

Patrick says nothing and refuses to meet Joe’s eyes, which only enrages him more. 

“I mean, shit Patrick, why do you care so much about him… This? You told me how it’s going to end for him and there isn’t anything we, much less you, can do to change that.”

“But what if there was, Joe?“ Patrick exclaims. “What if… I was the only one who can make a difference? Even if it meant - “

“You’re not a God, Patrick,” Joe says coldly, much more than he means for it to sound. “All you will be is a goddamn fool if you go out there with _him.”_

Patrick remains silent, wary of saying the wrong thing to set Joe off. But Joe could read Patrick even if he didn’t understand how auras worked. Joe knew that Patrick was trying to think of a way to avoid the conversation as his aura turned red (for dishonesty and avoidance, which was rare for Patrick). It gave off pulses of black (fear, which Joe typically sensed after Patrick’s visions subsided), and a deep green (a melancholy feeling that had become more present since Pete had first arrived at their apartment). 

Patrick mutters something as he turns back to his room, which Joe is about to let slide before his monster’s flame turns the same shade of green. It bleats with a whimpering tone, and Joe knows he can’t just let him go. 

He sighs and reluctantly calls after his best friend, “Mooshka heard you, so you might as well repeat yourself.”

For a moment, Patrick is still and shrouded in a haze of black, and Joe worries that he had a mini-episode. But the red fades to a blush as Patrick speaks. 

“We all are going to die one day Joe. Whenever that may be, I just want my life to have meant something.” Joe watches as Patrick’s monster wraps itself around him, shading his aura with a bold purple (confidence, bravery, and a tinge of pride). Patrick turns back to look at Joe while his hand gently strokes the muzzle of Present. 

“I’m not actively seeking death out. I know that with Pete around it certainly seems like I am. But we’re seeking out the same thing; trying to find out where prophecy ends and free will begins, and if either can exist in spite of the other.” 

Patrick turns his gaze to Past. “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s like there is something pulling us together. Sort of like a book that was read to you as a kid, but then you read it as an adult and you find all the hidden meanings and it kind of ruins the memory you have of it. I mean, Pete scares the shit out of me most of the time, but he also fascinates me.”

Joe didn’t understand what was so fascinating about a human rag doll with too many teeth and too many souls inside him, with a matching monster that had too many eyes as well. All he knew was that Pete was trouble, and that he creeped out Mooshka. Those were good enough reasons to stay away. 

“He’s got this kind of convoluted need to know things, even though he doesn’t know what that knowledge brings, or really how to use it. But that’s literally what I do every day of my life, if not every moment. And when I’m researching about this prophecy, it’s an escape for me. I’m so tired of trying to decipher all of these,” Patrick motions to the tattoos on his neck, then points to his head, “and everything up here.”

“It’s just... I don’t know if I want that to change. I mean, it’s going to when Pete faces The Big Bad. But if there was a possibility where everything turned out great for everyone...” Patrick pauses and stares into Future’s eyes, as if they held a secret to terrible to speak of. 

The blush color surrounding Patrick deepens slightly, and Joe doesn’t bother to hide his frown. Even as Patrick shakes his head, the color stays the same. 

“Joe, I have to go with him. Even if none of us will be the same after - “ 

Joe raises his eyebrow, “Us?”

“Oh, like Andy would let Pete go there without some security measures in place.”

“More about that ‘us’, Pat,” Joe responds.

“You can say no, but I’d like it if you came too. You’re my best friend, and Mooshke would be invaluable in detecting any weird shit... and... And I trust you to have my back,” Patrick finishes. 

“Isn’t that what Champ is for?” Joe asks while motioning to the monster still resting its heads on Patrick. 

“Physically, yeah for sure.”

“So what do I have that he doesn’t?” 

Patrick gives a light smile that does nothing to hide the seriousness of his tone. 

“Humanity and a moral compass.”


End file.
